| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 35.2

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| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 35.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Racism, and the Rise of Mexican American Activism. By Patrick J. Carroll. Foreword by José E. Limón. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. xviii + 270 pp. Illustrations, map, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $45.00, cloth; $19.95, paper.)

Patrick J. Carroll seeks answers to questions surrounding an incident that became an international affair when the local mortician at Three Rivers, Texas, refused to handle the remains of Pvt. Felix Longoria, a native of the city killed in action during World War II. Space allows discussion of only two of those questions. First, why did this particular act of discrimination become an incident; second, why did it become a pivotal turning point in Texas Mexican history? According to Carroll, the subjects involved in the episode unwittingly propelled it onto the national consciousness. Carroll carefully assigns significance to Felix Longoria, the deceased; Beatrice Longoria, the widow; Tom Kennedy, the mortician; LBJ, the rising senator from Texas who arranged for Longoria's burial in Arlington National Cemetery; and Dr. Hector P. García, the driving force behind the movement that sought redress for the indignity. By their actions and demeanor, these players persuaded the entire country that the affront at Three Rivers amounted to an unpatriotic, and in fact, intolerable deed.

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